nameserv::auto(n)

🌸 nameserv::auto — the manual, but make it make sense 💅

okay bestie, so this is page nameserv::auto(n) from the tcllib collection, and honestly? it's giving "your fave client, but with abandonment issues (affectionate)". let's get into it 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

nameserv::auto — Name service facility, Client Extension. yes she's an extension. yes she's that girl. 💖

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

package require Tcl 8.5 9

package require nameserv::auto ?0.4?

package require nameserv

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✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

okay so first things first, queen: go read the doc Name service facility, introduction before you read this one. fr fr, it's the prerequisite. 🙈

so this package? it hands you the exact same API as the package nameserv, like, the regular name service client. no notes on the API itself. BUT — and this is the whole personality — it goes the extra mile to make sure your longer-lived data survives when the connection to the name server ghosts you. we're talking:

• bound names
• continuous searches
• unfullfilled async searches

she keeps those alive as much as is humanly (and technically) possible. 👑

what that actually means: the bound names and the continuous + unfullfilled async searches get remembered client-side, and then automatically re-entered into the server once the connection comes back after being lost. iconic behavior, honestly.

but bestie, there's one important limitation on restoring bound names and I need you to hear me: it is possible that one of this client's names got bound by a different client while the connection was gone. names like that are fully lost. the absolute best this package can do — and the thing it will do — is tell the user about it. that's it. that's the ceiling. 😭

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✨ API ✨

the user-visible API is mainly identical to the API of nameserv, so it's not getting described here. go read the docs for nameserv. she's not repeating herself, she's efficient. 💅

the differences? they're down below in the OPTIONS and EVENTS sections. keep scrolling.

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✨ OPTIONS ✨

this package supports all the options of package nameserv, plus exactly one more. and the bonus option lets you set the time interval between attempts to restore a lost connection. so thoughtful of her. 🎀

• -delay milliseconds — the value of this option is an integer value > 0, and it specifies the interval to wait between attempts to restore a lost connection, measured in milliseconds. the default value is 1000, i.e. one second. so if you do nothing, she's checking back every second. loyal. ⭐

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✨ EVENTS ✨

this package generates all of the events of package nameserv, plus two more. both of these extra events are generated for the tag nameserv. 🦋

• lost-name — this event fires when a bound name is truly lost, i.e. it could not be restored after the temporary loss of the connection to the name server. it's the signal that a different client took ownership of the name while this client was out of contact. the detail information of the event is a Tcl dictionary containing two keys, name, and data. their values hold all the information about the lost name. rip to that name honestly 💀
• re-connection — this event fires when the connection to the server is restored. and here's the cute part: the remembered data has already been restored by the time the event is posted. the event has no detail information. she just shows up to say "we're so back". 🌈

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✨ DESIGN ✨

so how is she built? the package is implemented on top of the regular nameservice client, i.e. package nameserv. she detects the loss of the connection by listening for lost-connection events, on the tag nameserv. 👀

her reaction to those events: she starts a periodic timer and tries to reconnect to the server whenever this timer triggers. on success she cancels the timer, generates a re-connection event, and then proceeds to re-enter the remembered bound names and continuous searches. slay. ✨

and if the connection drops again — whether that's during or after re-entering the remembered information — she simply restarts the timer and the subsequent reconnection attempts. no drama, just persistence. periodt. 💜

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✨ BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK ✨

ngl, this document and the package it describes will undoubtedly contain bugs and other problems. it's giving "we're all just doing our best". 🙈

please report such bugs in the category nameserv of the Tcllib Trackers:

http://core.tcl.tk/tcllib/reportlist

also please report any ideas for enhancements you may have for either the package and/or the documentation. we love ideas. we eat ideas for breakfast. 🍓

when you propose code changes, please provide unified diffs, i.e the output of diff -u. no freestyling.

note further that attachments are strongly preferred over inlined patches. 💅

attachments can be made by going to the Edit form of the ticket immediately after its creation, and then using the left-most button in the secondary navigation bar. iykyk.

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✨ SEE ALSO ✨

• nameserv(n)

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✨ KEYWORDS ✨

automatic, client, name service, reconnect, restore 🌸

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✨ CATEGORY ✨

Networking

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✨ COPYRIGHT ✨

Copyright (c) 2007-2008 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users.sourceforge.net>

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and that's the whole page, bestie 🥰 this came from tcllib, version 0.4, of nameserv::auto(n) — go forth, keep your bound names safe, and remember: if the connection drops, she's already on it. mwah 💖